


A Hundred Miles Long

by mricj



Series: RosaWatts Week(s) [1]
Category: To The Moon (Video Game)
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Driving, Fourth Wall, Gen, Music, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17346638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mricj/pseuds/mricj
Summary: She pretends that this isn’t, perhaps, the kindest he’s ever been to her.Written for Day 2: Music/Singing of RosaWatts Week 2k18.





	A Hundred Miles Long

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place between To the Moon and Finding Paradise. A lot closer to To the Moon's timeline, though.

Four hours and a half after Neil and Eva arrive to Catherine Brown’s house, she’s gone, and both of them start packing as soon as the commotion is over. They have seen it enough times in this line of work, and losing a loved one has never been easy on anyone, and it isn’t until then that it feels appropriate to do so, and, soon enough, both of them are done. Neil grabs the machine, and Eva tells them they’re sorry for their loss. The oldest of Catherine’s daughters has one of the saddest smiles on her face, and the tears don’t stop her from thanking them for their services.

And as much as dealing with Catherine has brought more trouble than both of them care to admit, it has also been one of the easiest cases Neil and Eva have worked on in a while, and, for that, they’re grateful. Both of them have been working since the previous morning, and are absolutely exhausted at this point. There’s a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and, in the end, Neil’s sure the bureaucratic side of things is what’s going to end up killing them.

“We’re far from the office,” The exhaustion is still there, settling in her bones, but that doesn’t stop Eva from musing to no one in particular but herself, and, from behind her, she hears Neil struggling as he carries the machine, groaning as he approaches the car and sets the machine inside the trunk.

Not only the machine is one of the most expensive and most complex equipments both of them have ever laid their eyes upon, it’s also been one of busiest weeks in months and at this point, neither Neil nor Eva can afford having it to be broken. She should be helping him, has the power of helping him, really, but, in the end, decides against it, shaking the thoughts out of her mind as she climbs inside.

There, in the car, it’s much warmer, and that alone is much more tempting than watching her partner make a fool out of himself.

“You should get some sleep,” Instead, Eva finds herself saying it, hopes she’s loud enough and that Neil can hear her. It isn’t suggestion no, far from it, but it’s up to him to decide what he’s going to do on the drive to the office. She doesn’t feel like talking, let alone entertaining him, and she doubts Neil’s any different.  

_“Or_ ,” Neil starts as he closes the trunk, and that’s enough confirmation for Eva. And, out of nowhere, he’s inside the car, climbing on passenger seat and buckling up, and she pretends his sudden presence hasn’t startled her, “You could let me drive.”

“Not a chance,” It isn’t the first time Neil touches the subject, and it isn’t going to be the last, either, and the more he brings it up, the more Eva starts to sound indifferent. Since the squirrel incident, as Neil starts to call it, she hasn’t let him get close to the driver seat, let alone touching the steering wheel - at least, not when she’s around him, and Eva doesn’t need to look at him to know he’s pouting.

Trying to convince Eva Rosalene of doing something she doesn’t want to has always been pointless and, yet, Neil never seems to learn.

 

 

Silence comes and envelopes both Neil and Eva, and, from there, things are settled between both of them. For as long as Eva can remember, Neil has never been a heavy sleeper, but, this time around, he’s half asleep by her side, and she isn’t far from it, either. As time passed, Eva has gotten used to the long hours, and more often than not, she doesn’t get as exhausted as she used to in the beginning, but there’s something about pulling all-nighters, about working with several patients in a roll, something she’ll never get used to, no matter how long she’s been working for Sigmund.

She focus all her attention and her remaining energy on driving, and throughout the years, music has been one of Eva’s best friends. It never fails to distract her as she drives, and soon enough, she’s taping her fingers on the steering wheel and humming the lyrics under her breath.

In a roundabout, Eva remembers to use the turn signal, and she’s exhausted enough to consider it a victory.

Songs come and go, and Neil manages to bite his tongue and keep his thoughts to himself. She doesn’t have the greatest singing voice, but that doesn’t stop him from finding her voice almost soothing. That doesn’t stop Eva from having the worst taste in music he’s ever seen, though, and it isn’t until Maroon 5 comes along that it becomes too much, and, from the corner of her eyes, she sees Neil rolling his.

It feels as if a thousand years has passed since then, but Neil’s been around since she was a kid, and this, this Eva can deal with.

It isn’t until one of Coldplay songs starts playing that it becomes too much, and then, Neil scoffs.

“Shut up,” He gets to her, of course he does, and, at that, Neil chuckles. It wouldn’t have been Neil if he didn’t, and, in the end, Eva sounds more aggressive than she intends. Once calmer, she clears her throat, and finds herself adding, “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

“You call it sleeping, I call it beauty sleep.”

She lets it go, and that’s that. Things are peaceful between them, and there’s nothing but them and the sound that comes out of the radio, and Eva almost allows herself to be distracted once again. Now, both of them are half an hour from the office, forty-five minutes from their respective places, and she isn’t paying attention to any of it anymore. Not to Neil, on her side, and definitely not to the songs and their lyrics.  

The one that comes up next is different, though, and it’s one of the only reasons why it manages to grab Eva’s attention. It’s all about soft melodies, and it’s one of the most melancholics things she has ever heard, and the singer’s voice doesn’t help much, either. She doesn’t remember ever listening to it, doesn’t remember adding it to her playlist and doesn’t remember how the lyrics goes, but, at the same time, it sounds incredibly familiar to her ears.

_Short steps, deep breath. Everything is alright_. This is how it goes, and Eva can almost hear herself humming to it, swears she’s heard it at some point, and as much as she wants to remember, her brain isn’t helping much, either.

_When the world is over_ , it continues, _The moon is all we’ll see_ (…)

Eva doesn’t remember the last time she thought about it, about them, and avoids touching on the subject as much as possible, even when it does come up, and, after such an emotional couple of days, it almost feels as if Eva has been punched in the stomach. She decides she’s had enough of it, and instead of sitting around to listen to it, her hands move to the radio, searching for the right button so she can skip it. At this point, anything’s better than this.

“Aw, this one isn’t so bad, dumpling,” Neil mumbles, and he almost sounds fond - of her, of the song,  Eva doesn’t know. Instead of skipping it, his hand meets hers, and before Eva knows it, Neil’s batting her hand away.

His touch is light, lighter than Eva remembers it being. She doesn’t remember the last time Neil’s touched her, and, now, there are calluses all over his hands. It comes from carrying the machine, probably, and, for a moment, Eva wonders how long has it been since Neil’s touched her for the sake of showing affection.

Never, probably, and, just like that, it’s gone. Soon enough, her hand is back to the wheel, almost as if skipping the song has never been her place, to begin with. Instead, Neil turns up the volume, and appreciates the song for a few seconds before making himself comfortable once again in his seat, closing his eyes as he sighs, finally allowing himself to relax.

Eva takes a look at him, and pretends this isn’t the most vulnerable she’s ever seen him in ages. Pretends that this isn’t, perhaps, the kindest thing he’s ever said to her.

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh, did I break the fourth wall?
> 
> (You can find me on Tumblr at @mricg and on Twitter at @mricjwrites. I'm also on DW, and there I'm compacri.)


End file.
